Field Trips

The program will include a number of excursions on the island of Procida and the nearby island of Ischia, as well as half-day and full-day field trips to relevant sites in the Naples area. All of them are study trips included either in Ital 189 A or Ital 189 B. In these trips you will be introduced to some of the most famous places in all of Europe, and, at the same time, to a microcosm of Mediterranean history. The cost for all ten field trips is included in the Program/Course fee.

Nearby Trips

Procida by sea: boat tour of the island
This tour of Procida by boat, aboard the comfortable Ippocampo, will get you acquainted with the geological configuration of the island, and give you spectacular vistas of the nearby islands of Ischia and Capri, as well of the three Procidan harbors of Chiaiolella, Marina Grande, and Ciricella. The latter is one of the most famous harbors of the Mediterranean, due to its superb position (looking out towards Capri) and its extraordinary architecture (see below).

 

Procida on foot: the "isolotto" of Vivara      
Connected by bridge to the main island, Vivara is a satellite islet of Procida, and the crescent-shaped remnant ridge of an ancient volcanic crater. This small island was occupied by Greek sailors in the Mycenean period (around 1350 BCE). In modern times it was prevalently used for hunting, but since 2002 it has been transformed into a nature reserve, due to the great number of bird species that rest on this island during their migratory journeys between Africa and Europe. Our visit will focus on both the historic and natural wonders of the islet.

Procida: the Corricella harbor
Undoubtedly the best-known and most picturesque place on the island, the harbor of Corricella is also an important historic site. Its colorful architecture bears the marks of both maritime engineering and a fertile exchange between Arabs and Procidans. In fact, this harbor tell the history of the fascinating relationship between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages and early modern period. Our guided tour will reveal to you the mysteries of the "Scala Scura" (the dark stairway that constituted one of the only three entrances to the harbor from land), the Vascello (a group of ten houses enclosing a courtyard), and the many other unique characteristics of this one-of-a-kind fishing village.

Ischia: Archeological Museum Pythecusae      
Ischia is the biggest of the Phlegrean islands and was also colonized in Greek times. A small archeological museum in a beautiful villa on the shore of Forio preserves all of the archeological treasures found on the island, in particular the famous "Nestor's cup," a priceless wine vessel from the 8th century BCE with an inscription of three verses from Homer's Iliad . Our visit to this museum will allow us to explore the fertile interaction between the ancient Greek world and the inhabitants of the Phlegrean islands.

Ischia: Aragonese Castle and Maritime Museum
Long believed to have been designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Aragonese castle is the most imposing reminder of the centuries of rule by French and Spanish monarchs in the Kingdom of Naples. Its oldest nucleus was built by Alphonse of Aragona in 1441 to defend the inhabitants of the island from the incursions of North African pirates. Our visit to the castle will disclose the little-known history of the Mediterranean slave trade. Our trip to the Castle will conclude with a visit to the nearby Maritime Museum, rich in historical curios, state-of-the-art ship models, and maps.

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Half-Day Trips

Archeological area of Baia and Cuma
Jump aboard the Cymba and look through its glass flooring: you will explore a sunken Roman city, the harbor of Portus Julius built in 37 BCE, and preserved for centuries underwater! Then step back on land to reach the ruins of Cumae, an ancient Greek settlement which constituted the first Greek colony in southern Italy. Here was the seat of one of the most famous prophetesses of antiquity, the Cumaean Sibyl. In this tour you will take stock of the intricate dialogue and conflict between the people of Magna Grecia (the southern Italian Greek colonies), native populations, and Rome.

Naples: Ancient including Archeological Museum    
Our first trip to the urban core of Naples will focus on the ancient city. We will start by strolling in the center of the city on streets that are more than two thousand years old, in order to appreciate the typical plan of a Greek and Roman town. We will then descend into underground Naples, where we will see the perfectly preserved ruins of 2400 years of its Mediterranean life. Our visit will end at the Archeological Museum of Naples, which contains, among other marvels, many of the most celebrated artifacts from Pompeii.

 

Naples: Modern and Contemporary
The celebrated lungomare (coastal avenue) of Naples is the starting point for a very special tour that will take us from the symbols of nineteenth-century modernization, such as the elegant Galleria Umberto--a late nineteenth-century iron and glass shopping center--, to the fascist-era exhibition complex of the Mostra delle Terre d'Oltremare (Exhibition of the Italian Colonies), to the industrial and immigrant quarters of eastern Naples.

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Full Day Trips

Paestum
Home to three of the best preserved Greek temples in the world, and to the greatest collection of ancient Greek paintings, Paestum also offers the opportunity to visit the nearby lands inhabited by the Sannites, along with historic sites recalling the passage of the renowned Carthaginian general Hannibal in the 2nd Century BCE during his epic military campaign against Rome.

Herculaneum and Pompei
Thanks to the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in 79 CE, the "dead cities" of Herculaneum and Pompeii have been preserved almost intact through the centuries, buried under meters of ash and lava that petrified life at the moment of the eruption. Excavations have been underway since the 18th century, and the two towns present today the most spectacular and complete ruins of any known ancient Roman settlement. They also testify eloquently to the symbiotic relationship between Rome and the Mediterranean.

 

Capri: Roman Villas
Renowned since Roman times for its dramatic coastline and deep blue coastal waters, the famous resort island of Capri is home to twelve ancient Roman villas, including Villa Jovis, the imposing summer residence of the Emperor Tiberius (1st century CE). Along with these ancient villas, we will also visit the beautiful Mediterranean town of Anacapri, which attracts tourists from around the world.

Amalfi
Most famous for its spectacular coastline—the costiera amalfitana —Amalfi clings to the rocky cliffs of the Gulf of Salerno. This ancient city of unknown origin will be our privileged point of departure for studying Mediterranean Italy in the Middle Ages. Along with Genoa, Pisa, and Venice, between 850 and 1200 CE Amalfi led the resurgence of commerce with the Orient and North Africa that made it one of the wealthiest and most important centers of trade in the medieval Mediterranean. Our visit to the city and its celebrated churches will reveal the fertile interaction in these centuries between Southern European-Christian and Arab-Muslim civilizations.

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Orientation Meeting for admitted students:
Thursday, June 4, 2009
PHELPS 5309
5:00-7:00pm